Organic Garden Planning

If you are new to gardening, you may not know about organic gardening. It is a popular method for growing vegetables by consumers who want to know what is going into their food. The term â€œorganic gardeningâ€ may seem misleading. It is more than simply growing your fruits, vegetables and herbs from soil. Most people grow their plants in soil, but that is not what makes their plants organic. Organic gardening is a style of gardening that does not use harsh chemicals or pesticides. Many organic gardeners use a combination of natural selections to keep pests away.

These selections are insects and other plants, specifically the use of predator insects and companion plants. Predator insects, such as the lady bug, will consume the eggs of a common pest that attacks tomato plants, aphids. Companion plants such as marigolds are plants that are best placed next to tomato plants, because they naturally repel aphids. Aphids will destroy tomato plants by sucking out the nutrients from the leaves and stems. Some consider this to be an older, more traditional gardening style to use.

It is important to have a plan when creating your organic garden. Decide on what you want to plant and when to plant it. Seed packages have weather zones indicated on the back side of the package. Container or starter plants ought to also have an indicator on them stating the zones. You can also search for appropriate seeds and plants online that are best for your zone. The weather zone map is color coded for easier locating of your zone and they are designed to indicate where this type of plant is best to planted at specific times of the year, depending on where you live. This will help you determine the last date of frost. This is important to know because it is after this time, that you can begin to plant any of your warmer type of crops. Peppers or tomatoes are both good examples of warm weather plants.

When it comes down to choosing your organic garden’s location, it is important to think about the soil on your property and the amount of sunlight those areas are exposed to during the day. You might have a house or fence, trees or other structure that actually prevents the sunlight from reaching an area at certain parts of the day. This can make the difference between plants getting 12 hours of light and 7. More light means more photosynthesis energy for your plants and they need this energy to produce healthy vegetables. This is why sunlight is such an essential part of organic gardening. It is said that for crops and vegetables to grow properly that they need to be exposed to in excess of 12 hours of direct sunlight each day. When it comes to the soil, you will find that there are dozens of types that you might either already have or need to obtain for your specific type of plants requirements. It is recommended that loam soil is used for organic gardening if possible. This is because loam contains sand, silt, organic matter, copious air space and lots of minerals. This is great for ensuring that your plants not only start off with quality soil, but that they produce healthy vegetables.

Be certain to dig long beds, or narrow trenches for your plants to growing rows, so that they are running north to south. This better permits the sunâ€™s light, which rises in the east, to shine upon the plants starting from the east, then in mid-day, the sun is slightly to the south, which permits the entire garden to be bathed in sunlight, and as the sun starts to set, heading west, the light can shine upon the other side of the plants. This prevents the plants from being blocked out by their own shadows. Maximizing light exposure is the key to growth. This will prevent any unnecessary stretching as well. Stretching occurs when a plant isnâ€™t getting as much sunlight as it needs and it grows longer than necessary to remedy this. This can lead to the plant falling over, or otherwise unable to support the weight of its produce.